Bush Picks Medal of Freedom Honorees

[Khephra]

Bush has selected 11 leaders in arts, sports, politics, science and business for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House announced Friday.

snip...........

* Charlton Heston, an Academy Award winning actor and political activist. His films include "The Greatest Show on Earth," "El Cid," "The Greatest Story Ever Told," "Ben Hur," "The Ten Commandments" and "Planet of the Apes."

* Edward Teller, a physicist who emigrated to America from his native Hungary to escape the rise of Nazi Germany. He worked on national defense projects such as the Manhattan Project and the Strategic Defense Initiative.

* Dave Thomas, who created the Wendy's restaurant chain. His restaurants, named after one of his daughters, became known for their square hamburger patties. The philanthropist who died last year was adopted as a child and was a lifelong advocate for adoption.

more........................

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-bush-medals-of-freedom,0,2567820.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[DagmarK]

1. Oh boy, this must be FUN for chimpy!!

A trifecta of sorts.....

Heston.....rewarding the fundie NRA folks (they will for sure contribute lots of money to the campaign)

Teller ...shoot.....ya never know about these people from nazi germany...like family, I am sure.

Wendy's guy...a nice shot in the arm for the restaurant associations who historically give TONS of money to repukes (I am sure they will be happy to return the favor in campaign donations).

Is there NOTHING that this dude doesn't do that doesn't fall under the category: "how can we get ahead and stay in power?" Nothing at all?????????

[Syrinx]

4. I don't know...

Dave Thomas always seemed like a decent guy to me.

[Set]

6. He was very anti-abortion...

true, he was pro-adoption, but still basically anti-choice...

[TankLV]

2. Let me guess - they're all repukes?

nt

[Flubadubya]

9. You bet they are...

Shrub wouldn't give a Dem the time of day... much less a Medal of Freedom Award.

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. This guy looks great:

* James Q. Wilson, who has written on the nature of human morality, government, and criminal justice. A professor at both Harvard and UCLA, his books include "Varieties of Police Behavior: The Management of Law and Order in Eight Communities," "The Moral Sense" and "The Marriage Problem: How Our Culture Has Weakened Families."

:puke:

[Set]

5. Wilson's pretty well respected...

I once took a course in college (at a pretty liberal school) where one of his textbooks was used.

[w4rma]

7. You can't judge a book by it's cover (n/t)

.

[umcwb]

8. Kick, n/t

[Nambe]

10. OMG, I kind of duped you khephra. Sorry.

I saw heston in that header and couldn't believe dimson would honor him. I can think of a thousand more likely people.

Haven't seen you around much lately k. Hope you're having a good summer!

Nambe

[Khephra]

14. No problemo

It happpens to everyone.

Good summer? Well, let's just say it's a busy summer.

I hope all is going well for you?

:hi:

[Blitz]

11. Here's the whole list

* Jacques Barzun, a former Columbia University professor and dean and author and scholar of modern European thought and culture. His books include "Race, A Study in Modern Superstition" and the more recent "From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life: 1500 to the Present."

* Julia Child, a master chef, an author of numerous cookbooks and a host of a number of television series.

* Roberto Clemente, a Hall of Fame baseball star from Puerto Rico who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clemente, who had a lifetime batting average of .317, 240 home runs and 1,305 RBIs, died in 1972, delivering emergency relief to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

* Van Cliburn, who at the age of 23 won the first Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition held in 1958 in Moscow. He has performed around the world.

* Vaclav Havel, former president of the new Czech Republic who led the nation until earlier this year. He had been imprisoned several times in the former Czechoslovakia for his plays about Communist rule.

* Charlton Heston, an Academy Award winning actor and political activist. His films include "The Greatest Show on Earth," "El Cid," "The Greatest Story Ever Told," "Ben Hur," "The Ten Commandments" and "Planet of the Apes."

* Edward Teller, a physicist who emigrated to America from his native Hungary to escape the rise of Nazi Germany. He worked on national defense projects such as the Manhattan Project and the Strategic Defense Initiative.

* Dave Thomas, who created the Wendy's restaurant chain. His restaurants, named after one of his daughters, became known for their square hamburger patties. The philanthropist who died last year was adopted as a child and was a lifelong advocate for adoption.

* Byron Raymond White, who served 31 years as a Supreme Court justice, was an All-American athlete and Rhodes Scholar who earned a Bronze Star in World War II. He played in the NFL and led the league in rushing before working in civil rights as a deputy attorney general and earning a spot on the high court. He retired in 1993 and died last year.

* James Q. Wilson, who has written on the nature of human morality, government, and criminal justice. A professor at both Harvard and UCLA, his books include "Varieties of Police Behavior: The Management of Law and Order in Eight Communities," "The Moral Sense" and "The Marriage Problem: How Our Culture Has Weakened Families."

* John R. Wooden, a record-setting college basketball coach and teacher whose UCLA Bruins won 10 national championships in 12 years.

I don't have much of a problem with any of them and especially like the selection of Havel, White, Clemente & Cliburn. I've never heard a bad word about Wooden or Child.

[lumpy]

12. Edward Teller, the great humanitarian ?

Proud father of Big Boy ( the hydrogen bomb) ? Avid obsessive pusher for development of SDI (Star Wars) ? Spent his lifetime developing weapons of mass destruction ?

[study_war_no_more]

13. They should refuse

to be photo op casulties of this egomaniac